Tracing the Transnational Influence of Jennifer Greene’s Ideas: Research on Evaluation Theory Across Countries

The study examines the transnational influence of American evaluation theorist Jennifer Greene’s ideas. Using mixed methods citation analysis, we investigate how Greene’s work in program evaluation theory on equity, democracy, and values engagement has impacted the field across countries. Rather than investigating theorist influence in a strictly quantitative way, we sought a contextualized, richer understanding of the contexts in which Greene’s ideas were being used to observe the imprint of her work on evaluators theorizing and practicing outside of the United States. To achieve this depth of knowledge required both quantitative and qualitative strategies as well as attention to geographical and cultural locations and translations. This study details a distinct methodological strategy for conducting research on evaluation theory.